First CIS International Youth Olympic Games to take place in Dushanbe

Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, will host the first ever Commonwealth of Independent States International Youth Olympic Games from 24 to 29 August.

According to a statement by the CIS Executive Committee, representatives aged 18-25 from Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine will take part. Participants will be the winners of other Olympic competitions, the heads of educational programmes within National Olympic Committees and representatives of National Olympic Academies.

The Games involve tests about the history of the Olympic Movement and five sports: indoor football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis and chess. There will also be training sessions, seminars and discussions. The adjudicators will be highly qualified specialists from the National Olympic Academies, Olympic champions, well-known athletes or coaches. In addition, an exhibition on the Olympic movement will run at the same time as the Games.

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organisation made up of nine former Soviet Republics. The purpose of the association is cooperation in political, economic, environmental, humanitarian and cultural fields.